Friends On The Other Side- A Reverse Falls Story
by marmite616
Summary: Mabel and Dipper Gleeful run a show known as the tent of telepathy and although it travels it is mostly situated around the Falls. Seen as just the pretty face and completely overshadowed by her brother Mabel is desperate to prove them all wrong and she will use ANY methods that she can get her hands on, no matter what the danger or cost. Short chapters because that's how I roll.
1. Chapter 1

Thunk. Thunk. The sound of knives hitting wood. That's what echoed around the crude caravan that served as a dressing room for the eldest of the Gleeful twins, Mabel. The chosen target of this latest knife throwing boredom fit was in fact her brother Dipper, or rather a promotional poster for the Twin's show. The smug little shit eating grin in the poster was always plastered on his stupid face in reality as well and Mabel of all people knew this oh so well. She had rather grown to resent her brother over the years and lately she had found herself plotting ways to overthrow him and take the centre stage for herself.

"I'm sick of just being the assistant in the flashy outfit!" She throws another knife and hits him square between the eyes "I mean, does he even know what I sacrifice for this show? No, he doesn't! I'm the only one keeping this dam thing on the road, without me he'd be nothing!"

By this point she was pacing around "Why? Why do I put up with this? With HIM. Urg". Her frustration was swiftly interrupted when a sudden wave of unknown energy passed over the whole town. She ran to her caravan door and flung it open.

"Dipper…Dipper! Did you feel that?"

The other Gleeful sibling poked his head out from the back of the tent canopy "Feel what? Oh that wave of energy? That was simply myself rehearsing for the show later. I was trying out a new spell, don't pay it any mind dear sister" and with that he was back inside again, ignoring her.

"No" she muttered under her breath "That was most definitely not you Dipper"

* * *

After a few moments of tapping her finger on her chin she decided that she would sneak away and track down the source of the energy wave. It could be the key to becoming more powerful than her brother and she wasn't going to miss that chance. She could totally be back before the show tonight and besides, it's not like he'd notice she was missing.

Mabel didn't know why she was even surprised that her journey had led her to this place. This stone formation lay deep within the heavily forested mountains of the Falls and Mabel knew it well. It was a quiet little place that she liked to visit when her aggravation levels rose to the point where it became obvious. Having to put on an act every night to for this stupid hick town and hide her true self was horrid.

"'Goodnight Y'all.'" She shuddered.

She was knocked off her feet as a deep tremor passed beneath her. Once this had passed the soft breeze returned but this time it brought a faint mutter of words with it. Although curious she thought it best to dismiss this for now, beside she could barely make them out anyway and if she was away much longer Dipper would give her grief for being late. She sighs as she walks away "Show time I guess"


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper straightens his pendant "Now remember Mabel, smile. It-"

"'It's what the audience wants', I know. We go over this before every show" she flicks her hair over her shoulder. "Dipper why do we even bother?"

"What do you mean 'why'? We must maintain our appearances dear sister. We need these people for testing our skills and also for funding"

"Why are we wasting our time though? We could go so much further!"

"Mabel, this town is filled with idiots. You really think that any of them could truly help us? No. They do however serve very well as puppets and as the perfect guinea pigs. Face it, we have all that we need right here."

She sighs "I'm sick of this façade Dipper. I want to be the real me. Not this flashy country girl that everyone sees"

"Mabel please, you're a wonderful actress and you know fine well that I can't pull off that accent as well as you. Strains my vocal chords" He grins

"And just how exactly do you think I feel?" she glares back at him

"You agreed into this remember? Besides, you think you could have gone anywhere without this?" He points to the book in his pocket "Face the facts sister: you're the face and I am the talent"

"Excuse you?"

"Oh believe me, I resent these people as much as you do but look at the facts. They all point to what I said. Now let us get this over with and speak no more on this topic as I grow tired of arguing."

"Oh just you wait and see" she mutters under her breath as she follows him on to the stage.

* * *

It was the usual song and dance. Mabel would rally up the crowd and Dipper would perform his cheap parlour tricks but something about tonight felt…different. They bowed and she shouted her usual "Goodnight y'all" followed by a wink. Once they got off however, things quickly heated up.

"Mabel. Care to tell me what the HELL you were doing out there tonight?"

"What d'ya mean?" she turned away, not meeting her brother's eyes.

He twisted her to face him and glared "You know fine well what I mean. Why did you pause during the second act? You nearly threw a knife in to my shoulder!"

"Oh did I? Whoops" she said, absent minded.

"Don't you dare 'whoops' me Mabel. You screwed up the whole act. You're dam lucky I didn't turn around and slap you! And even now, after I tell you, you continue to dance around the subject"

"Oh, now you show your true colours"

Before she could say another word a blunt force collided with the side of her face. Dipper was fed up and wasn't willing to take any more of Mabel's attitude, he had slapped her.

Mabel's hands twitched as she pressed them against her red cheek, her eyes began to water. "You-"

"I'm sorry dear sister but you simply must learn to hold your tongue before I force you to bite it off" and with a swish of his cape Dipper wandered out of sight leaving the distraught Mabel to collect her thoughts.

She ran back to her caravan and once there she could no longer hold back the tears.


	3. Chapter 3

The slow drip of the cold tap was all that could be heard in the silence that followed. Mabel was slumped in the corner, head resting on her knees.

"Can't believe he actually slapped me. He's becoming much more of control freak than I'd like. I mean, how dare he lay a hand on me. ME, his own sister! Not that I care much for him but at the very least you think he'd show some restraint"

Her ears twitched and her hair gently danced across her face. There it was again- the whispering breeze. How was that even possible? She was indoors!

Once again she was willing to dismiss it. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with mysterious energies right now. She rose slowly and crawled in to her bed, head resting softly on her pillow. One side of her face was now slightly swollen so she opted to sleep on the other. Facing the wall she scrunched her eyes shut, trying to shut out the whispers. This time they didn't stop and they were getting louder.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" she shouted, sitting up.

The whisper ceased. Frustrated, she slumped back down and once again tried to settle.

* * *

It was late the next day. The sun was beginning to set and Mabel was wandering through the woods, not lost but of her own choosing. No show tonight meant she was free if at least for a while. Although her rest had been deep she could not say that it had been peaceful. Her dreams had been strange and made her feel uneasy. Indeed she felt like something was pulling her, driving her even, to find something or SOMEONE. She wandered on and on until she came to a small opening in the trees. Sat in a circle were some pre burned candles but they were old and clearly hadn't been touched in a long time, and yet they still stood intact. A surge of energy pooled over Mabel as she stepped forwards in to the circle. It made her body heavy and each step became far more difficult as she made her way to the centre. It was then she knew what she was to do. Carefully bending down she used a simple fire spell to ignite the candles and then rising once again she loudly chanted the words that had been whispered to her over and over again, pausing between each word…

"YROO. XRKSVI. GIRZMTOV!"


	4. Chapter 4

Mabel's limbs were cemented in place, she couldn't move! The light breeze rose to a strong gale and a strange almost data like warble filled the air. Her surroundings were suddenly in greyscale as if all the colours had been sucked from the world. She also noticed all the small creatures in the near vicinity were frozen in place, trapped in time.

In the sky a triangular black shape burned its way through, as if it were forcing itself in to this dimension. This was quickly followed by an ominous laugh, echoing through the frozen forest.

Mabel wasn't going to lie, she was mildly afraid. Sure she and Dipper had summoned demons before but none had this effect nor radiated this amount of raw power.

"Oh. Well this is…different." came a mysterious voice. With this the triangle became a physical shape with one ominous eye darting about in the centre. "Definitely not the Gravity Falls I remember. Hmmm I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Mabel's breaths were short and sharp. Being in this position was mildly uncomfortable. Her arms were bent back and her head was facing the sky. She tried to speak but the words seemed stuck in her throat. Instead she just made some very pathetic noises. That wasn't going to stop her trying though. She tried to snap herself free and regain control of her limbs.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot about you, my pretty little medium… Oh, OH. Well if it isn't the face of the show in the flesh. Mabel Gleeful! So how's that show coming along tonight? Oh right yeah, gotta snap you out of this trance thing" he clicks.

Mabel's limbs fall back to her side and she stretches, grateful "Thank you. Alright, spill the beans. How do you know my name?"

"Kid I've been watching this dimension for a while now. Believe me when I say I know LOTS of things" the little yellow triangle floats down to hover in front of her face

"And I'm guessing that your name is Bill Cipher. Am I correct?" she raises an eyebrow

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Hit the nail on the head kid. I am indeed THE Bill Cipher. How did ya figure that one out?"

"Well, I did just summon you using your name. The spell- it was your name… and shape" she shrugs "After listening to that message for such a long time I figured out that it wasn't in fact gibberish but it was a Cipher. The Atbash to be accurate. It translated as 'Bill Cipher, Triangle'."

"Hmph. I could tell you were the real brains behind this operation of you and your brother"

She scoffs "Don't talk to me about my brother" and turns away.

"Oh. What's this? Do I detect some hostility towards your sibling?"

"DON'T YOU DARE RELATE ME TO HIM"

"I'll take that as a yes. So, on to business. There must be some reason you summoned me kiddo"

"And there must be some reason behind your calling out to me. I wouldn't have summoned you if you hadn't. So really it's more what do YOU want?" by this point she was perched on tree stump, twirling her hair around her finger, bored. "So can we just skip straight to it? I have no time for games"

"Well alright" he floats over to her again "See, I've been looking for a new place to call my own. You see, my current dimension is dying and I need out. This place seems like it could be worth a shot. If I spruce it up a little" he shrugs "Also I kind of sort of picked up on your emotions. I could tell you in search of a new source of power to help you knock your brother off his front stage throne"

"Go on…"

"I can help you. You got a lot of untapped potential kid. I mean I have enough power buuuut I still can't in to this dimension without help. That's where you'd come in. You help me get a physical form and I help you achieve greatness. How does that sound?"

Mabel tapped her chin, mulling over his words. "Hmm. Well as interesting a proposal as that is, how do I know your aren't just going to turn everything on its head and backstab me when you're finished? Something that seems too good to be true, usually is."

"'finished'? Once I'm in control this party will never end! Besides for what I have planned you could consider yourself my…hmmm…. Second in command. How does that sound now? And with how powerful you'll be you could be like a body guard. Also, I've seen what you can do with knives. Imagine being able to manipulate the matter and throw anything you could possibly imagine. And hell, why bother throwing them when you could just control them with your physic abilities"

"I don't have any of those"

"Don't lie to me. I've seen what you can do when you really put your mind to it. So, do we have a deal or not?" he outstretches his hand, a light blue flame flickers from it

Mabel looks doubtful

"This could be your only chance to step out of your brother's shadow" he playful states

"And there are no strings attached?"

"Absolutely none. You cover your end and I'll uphold mine"

With a furious glint in her eyes and a manic grin spreading across her face she reaches up and grabs his hand. The blue flame envelopes her hand and wrist as she shakes, cementing her decision. "It's a deal" she practically hisses.

"Excellent. That's what I like to hear… You can't tell, but I'm smiling"

Standing up and dusting herself off she asks "So, what's next?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's been so long guys! I promise I haven't forgotten about the story. It's just I'm back to college/ spent all summer working and stuff so updates will be slow I'm afraid.**

Mabel straightened her neck tie, making sure the star was centred. She was humming to herself as she did so.

"You seem pleasantly cheerful tonight sister" Dipper's eyebrows arched, clearly puzzled.

"Well you told me to think no more upon the events of the other night and that is exactly what I am doing" she smiled innocently.

"Hmph, glad to see you're listening to me for once. I do wish you would do it more often" he smirked.

"Shall we then?" she gestured to the stage entrance.

Things were going far smoother than they had the previous show and Mabel radiated excitement to the crowd as she danced about and cried out to onlookers. It was now time for her favourite point of the night- her knife throwing act. As per usual she chained up dipper to the rotating, star shaped stand. "Now watch and be amazed y'all as I levitate these knives at my brother…whilst blindfolded!" she wraps the blindfold around herself.

Dipper was sceptical "Mabel… This is not how the act g-"

He was swiftly interrupted by his over eager sister "Don't listen to a word he says ladies and gentleman, this is completely normal!" she pulled a knife from her jacket "As is THIS". Her grin spreads as the knife 'slips' and hits an audience member in the throat. "Oops. Don't worry y'all, it's all part of the act"

The poor man gags and hits the floor, his blood spilling over the grass.

Mabel pulls off the blindfold and walks over to Dipper

"Mabel! What are you-"

She takes the journal from her helpless brother's pocket before turning to the now terrified audience "THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT HAS BEEN SPILLED AND WITH THIS PACT I COMPLETE MY ROLE AS PAWN! YROO. XRKSVI. GIRZMTOV. YROO. XRKSVI. GIRZMTOV!" she repeats hers eyes glowing.

As she chanted, the wind suddenly picked up, rattling and shaking the sides of the tent violently. The audience were cowering behind each as the corpse suddenly began to glow and levitate to the stage. It then turned to the audience, letting out a laughter that echoed across the valley. Suddenly in a flash of light, the corpse started to deform, stripping the flesh and muscle, changing into a triangular shape with a single floating eye that beamed down on the audience. The laughter grew louder and more manic by the second.

"Oh this is happening. This is TOTALLY happening!"

As the laughter died a chilling voice replaced it. "Hope you enjoyed that little warm up folks, cos now it's time for the main event!"

"Ladies and gentlemen-" Mabel drops her southern accent to the surprise of the crowd "Yes that's right, it's all been an act. I can guarantee you that man is ultimately dead" she pretends to cry but this is an obvious fake notion, swiftly replaced by a laughter fit "Oh boo hoo hoo, I killed a man. BIG DEAL! All those 'volunteers' you see on our stage they are quite dead. We simply manipulate them with black magic"

"Mabel!" Dipper seethes through his clearly gritted teeth "What are you doing? You're ruining everything!"

"Sorry brother but as you always say 'the show must go on'" She turns to address the crown once again "The Tent of Telepathy is now under new management! It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to your new lord and master, BILL CIPHER!"


	6. Chapter 6 (at long bloody last)

By this point there was very little left of the corpse. It had ascended to the very peak of the tent, melting away to an almost non-existence. The basic matter was broken down and reformed. The crowd scattered but the entrance to the tent was sealed shut. "Sorry but no re-entry aloud, re-entry to the outside world that is. You have all witnessed this beautiful ritual and oh how tragic it is that you'll never be able to tell another soul of what you experienced. It almost brings a tear to my eyes. Almost" Mabel taps her foot, absentmindedly whilst wiping away a fake tear.

Some of the crowd made a feeble attempt at hiding under their seats, others were scratching at the walls of the tent. Some desperate souls were even trying to burrow their way out. The sight amused Mabel terribly, even the annoyed and confused Dipper couldn't help but find it hilarious. He daren't express himself though, he was in no position to do so.

The glowing from the 'corpse' grew brighter and brighter still. During this time the gooey matter was encompassed in diamond shell and a metal exoskeleton and with a final blinding flash the figure emerged and revealed itself to be a floating yellow triangle with one demonic eye that watches over all and … a top hat? A rather fashionable one at that, matched equally by the small black bowtie in the centre of its body.

The triangle straightens his bow tie and looks around, triumphantly. "Thank you, thank you. Please, hold your applause until the end, which will never happen ahahah!"

"This sucks!" someone dangerously pipes up.

Bill turns to glare, shining a spotlight from his eye directly on to the unfortunate soul.

"I want a refund!" the statement raised some agreeing grumbles of dissatisfaction.

"Say, didn't anyone tell you it was RUDE TO INTERRUPT? Now I'm sorry, well actually I'm not, but my policy as manager is 'No Refunds'" And with a single flash of his eye and a speedy snap of his finger the audience's souls and any traces of life essence were sucked from their bodies leaving nothing but a wake of shrivelled, lifeless shells. "The old bat always told me 'never perform on an empty stomach', ya know, before I killed her" he shrugs aimlessly as he sucked in the essences through his eye, which was now a mouth….Creepy.

"Now, on to the business at hand"


	7. Chapter 7

Bill continued "Okay so, the next part of our show. I'm feeling the whole tent thing just isn't big enough for me to perform in. I mean it's cute don't get me wrong buuuut just a little too underwhelming. Just a little. Let's build up some ATMOSPHERE!"

As he closes his eye and raises his arms the ground beneath the tent begins to violently quake and rumble. Within a few seconds the tent began to rise, ascending till it towered and cast a terrifying shadow on the town below. The tent interior also begins to change. Plastic chairs were replaced with sofas, a fireplace and multiple other twisted objects. It was lass of a tent and more of a sitting room with solid brick walls by the end of this transformation.

Bill let out a satisfied sigh and floats down to rest on the sofa. "Phew, that took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I'm totally drained" He poses dramatically, draping his arms over the arm of the chair before rubbing his eye. "Well I need a little top up but woe is me, looks like there's no fleshbags left". Had he a mouth (that wasn't also his eye) he would've grinned. "Looks like I'm going to have to borrow some power from somewhere else" He turned to face Mabel "Bring your brother over here a minute"

Mabel glared in the direction of the still chained up Dipper "Very well". Wandering over she grabbed him by a clump of his hair and drags him towards Bill, who was now sitting upright.

"Sister, why can't I break these chains? I ought to have broken free and taught you a lesson by now" Dipper grumbles

"Because brother there are forces more powerful than you and he's sat right in front of you" She replied before tossing him like a ragdoll at Bills' feet.

"Well well well" the triangular shadow loomed over the confused boy "So you're the Big Dipper that pushed your sister to the point of betrayal, hah. You don't look so big to me. However-" he floated around the boys head before grabbing him by the chin "You do have some power though"

Mabel scoffs. A quick glare Bill silences her.

"And I recon it could be juuuuust enough to give me A BOOST" and with this Bill gave a flick of a singular finger and a sharp inhale. A trail of green energy shoots forth from a gasping Dipper's mouth and straight in to Bill's. The triangle is thrown in to a nearby wall "Woahhhhh. This has a bit of a KICK to it" he states happily, dusting his hat and bowtie off. "NOW TO THE NEXT STEP" He floats up through the roof and stops a few metres above. Cracking his fingers to prepare he grabs the edges of the realm's reality and rips. The tear grows wider and monstrous and spine chilling noises can be heard from the other side. Bill laughs triumphantly "Come on through guys. You're late, you're late for a very important date!" this statement was matched by Bill's eye reflecting a clock.

With this, multiple eyes of various sizes and colours could be seen peering through the tear, some more monstrous looking than Bill's. His crew was here and they were ready to party.


	8. Chapter 8

The freak show descended on the pyramid that was once a tent. One by one they landed in front of the rather confused looking Mabel. They were all making hideous laughing noises as they towered over her. "…You uh-" she gulps "You never told me you were expecting company Bill"

"Oh boy, all those husks out there. Looks like Bill's been hard at work already!"

"Aw man" A giant pair of teeth stated

"But I'm starving!" Said the creature with 8 balls for eyes

"No guys, he did leave us a little something" A freakishly tall pink fiery cyclops picked Mabel up by her collar. "See?"

Mabel wriggles about, struggling. "Unhand me you foul creature! … Bill, this wasn't part of our deal"

"She knows the boss" The teeth spoke up again before laughing "Not gonna save her though. Hey Pyronica, pass her over here!" He opens the gaping void that serves as his mouth.

The cyclops dangles Mabel over the dark, stinky hole before dropping her. Mabel screams as she is dropped. The mouth clamps shut before burping, satisfied.

"Man Teeth, you're so greedy sometimes you know that?" The 8 ball complains while his friends chuckle.

Their laughter is swiftly interrupted by Bill smacking Teeth in the back and making him cough up a now slimy, and traumatized looking Mabel. She blinks furiously, unsure of what had just happened

"Apologies for that" Bill picks up the damp girl and stands her upright, dusting her off. "Folks may I introduce to your our lovely and completely willing host, without whom none of this would be possible?" with a sharp snap of his finger Mabel was dry and looked good as new. "This is the lovely Mabel Gleeful" He turns to look at her "Sorry about them. They can get a little rowdy at times. It's been a while since they last were in a new dimension" He turns to glare at them "Maybe next time you'll LOOK BEFORE YOU EAT. DO YOU WANT ME TO CHIP THOSE PERFECT KNASHERS? Pyronica, sweetie, I of all people do not want to see your fire go out but next time maybe ask before you act"

"Sorry boss"

"We didn't think there would be any harm in it"

"Yeah that's exactly it. You didn't THINK. YOU IDIOTS!" A small thundercloud appears above Bill's head, shooting wildly out, causing the henchmaniacs to scramble leaving only Pyronica and Teeth. "NOW GO DO YOUR JOB AND ROUND UP THE IDIOTS LEFT IN THIS HICK TOWN!" They flee.

Mabel was lounging on the sofa by this point, watching Bill unwind. "Well that was certainly something"

"Yeah sorry about that. You'll get used to them. They might be idiots but they have their uses. Now, get to it the rest of you. Prepare things for the party!" He floats down to rest on his armchair

"Won't they just try to eat me again?" The sceptical Mabel enquires, raising an eyebrow.

"Not of they know what's good for them. Consider them your crew now, your family even. Trust me, I've worked with them for centuries. These guys have got a lot more power that you'd think. I choose my followers closely Mabel so think of yourself as one of us, a henchmaniac if you like"


	9. Chapter 9

"So I'm just a lowly henchman?"

"It's just a title, it doesn't mean anything. You're like…My assistant!"

"I MADE THIS DEAL TO STOP BEING AN ASSISTANT BILL" The gem on her headband glows an eerie green. She stands "AND I WILL UN DO WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IF YOU GO BACK ON OUR TERMS. REMEMBER THAT!"

"Yeesh, it was just a joke. Relax kid! Also, would you mind getting down?"

"'Getting down'?"

"You're floating kid." He ropes her back down. "Of course I refer to you as my assistant. Would I have you any other way? Doesn't mean I look down on you. Absolutely not"

"Well I'm glad we cleared that up"

"Anyway, you're more than just an assistant" He continues "You're my partner in crime. We're in this together remember? Hell you're like a 'HEADmaniac' am I right, am I right? … Okay, that sounded better in my head but you get the idea"

"So does that mean I get my power boost? Because that's all this is really about. That was the whole premise of our deal" Mabel taps her foot.

A loud groaning comes from the floor. Dipper had been trampled on when the henchmaniacs arrived.

"Oh yes, you're still here. I respectively ignored your existence" she scoffs

"Listen kid it's going to take a little while to get things up and running so you're just gonna have to wait a little longer. Currently I can't offer what I can't give." He floats over and pats her on the head "Now, why don't you go and play with your little brother? I'm sure you two can have some 'quality' time together. A little heart to heart or knife to heart, catch my drift?" He winks, at least she believed he was winking. It could have been a blink, who knows.

Mabel grins "Don't you worry, I've got this. I'm sure we'll talk later Bill but for now I have some business to tend to". She walks slowly over to her brother, her heels making an intimidating clipping noise as she crossed the floor. Towering over the growling dipper she grins, a mirror image to the smile Dipper once wore on his smug and seemingly perfect face, little bastard. She grabs him by his hair and drag him, struggling, away. "I'm going to enjoy this"


End file.
